By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

As the academic year of 2017-2018 opens today, youth rights group Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) has expressed grave displeasure over the decision of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for approving the tuition fee increases of several colleges and universities nationwide.
In an email sent by SPARK spokesperson Joanne Lim Friday evening, the group blamed the tuition fee increase as one of the many factors why education continues to be inaccessible for the Filipino youth.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that this government continues to abandon and rely on the private sector to educate its people when the staggering numbers of dropouts is proof of the debacles of its policies,” Lim said.
Lim took exception at a statement issued by Education Secretary Leonor Briones that justified the recent tuition hikes, describing it as “the most recent manifestation of state abandonment and justification for the intrusion of private capital in social services.”
She also explained that in a press conference made by Briones last week, the DepEd Secretary said that teachers from private schools are transferring to public schools because of the huge disparity in salaries.
In order to address the issue, Briones endorsed the tuition fee hikes.
The progressive group accused the Secretary of selling out to the interests of capitalist-educators in the guise of addressing the imbalance of teacher-student population in both private and public schools.
“Briones’ crooked and irresponsible formula will only burden cash-strapped parents ,” she said.
Lim added, the issue of low salaries of private school teachers should not be charged to the parents of their students.
Earlier, both the CHED and DepEd approved the request of over 268 private education institutions across the country for a tuition fee increase, with 10 coming from the Negros Island Region./WDJ